Thank you for your interest in becoming a vendor at our market. Please review the FAQs and Rules & Regulations below before completing an application.

  • Application for 2025 City of Tuscaloosa Farmers Market vendors is NOW CLOSED.
  • The 2025 Application was open until Friday, January 17, 2025. 2025 Vendors will be selected by January 31, 2025.
  • There will be a mandatory vendor meeting for all new and returning vendors on Saturday, February 8, 2025 at noon at the River Market.
  • New Rules and Regulations will be available at www.TuscaloosaFarmersMarket.com
  • No boutiques, no reselling, no franchises.
  • All vendors must be from within 25 miles of the state line of Alabama.

Please review these Rules and Regulations before applying to become a vendor at our market.

If you have questions about the application process, please call 205-248-5295 or email rivermarket@tuscaloosa.com.

FAQs

The City of Tuscaloosa hosts 51 Saturday farmers markets. We only close the Saturday between Christmas and New Year’s.

Each vendor must pay a $50 annual fee and a $10 fee each time they set up. Some vendors are required to have special business licenses to sell their value-added goods (anything that isn’t grown in the ground). Please see the Rules and Regulations for more information about what licenses are required.

On average we see between 500 and 1000 shoppers on a Saturday in the fall and winter and as many as 3,000 in the peak of the summer.

Set up times vary depending on your booth assignment. Vendors that are placed in a garage door bay or outside must arrive between 5:45 a.m. and 6:15 a.m. Vendors that are placed in the center of the farmers market must arrive between 6:15 a.m. and 6:45 a.m. All vendors must be set up and ready to sell by 7 a.m.

Yes, baked goods can be sold at the market. They must be either baked in a certified kitchen or marked with a label indicating that they were baked in a kitchen not inspected by a regulatory agency.

If your product is an artisan craft that is not made from a kit, you can likely sell it at the market. We are required to maintain a ration of 70 percent food vendors to 30 percent artisan vendors. Please call the office at 205-248-5295 to see if we are currently accepting artisans. Flea market vendor and resale are not allowed at the market.

Non-profit organizations may set up an informational table once per year. Table organizers should call the River Market office at 205-248-5295 to schedule a date. For-profit businesses are not permitted to promote at the market at this time.

Just like all vendors, food truck operators must go through the application process. Please view our “How to Apply” section below for next steps.

Foods that do not have to be time or temperature controlled for safety can be prepared in a home kitchen. Examples include baked goods, jams, jellies, and pickles.

Low acid foods such as canned vegetables, slaws, soups, sauces, and any foods containing meat or other ingredients that need to be refrigerated cannot be made in a home kitchen and sold at a farmers market.

Yes. These products must be labeled with a clearly visible label, tag, or placard that states that food is prepared in a kitchen that is not inspected by a regulatory agency.

Only raw meats that are processed, packaged, and labeled at an inspected facility may be sold at a farmers market. This includes fish and seafood.

Yes! All of these products are considered agricultural commodities and may be sold at farmers markets.

Dairy products, including goat cheese, must be processed, packaged, and labeled at a facility permitted and inspected by the Alabama Department of Public Health’s Milk and Food Processing Branch.

FAQs

The City of Tuscaloosa hosts 51 Saturday farmers markets. We only close the Saturday between Christmas and New Year’s.

Each vendor must pay a $50 annual fee and a $10 fee each time they set up. Some vendors are required to have special business licenses to sell their value-added goods (anything that isn’t grown in the ground). Please see the Rules and Regulations for more information about what licenses are required.

On average we see between 500 and 1000 shoppers on a Saturday in the fall and winter and as many as 3,000 in the peak of the summer.

Set up times vary depending on your booth assignment. Vendors that are placed in a garage door bay or outside must arrive between 5:45 a.m. and 6:15 a.m. Vendors that are placed in the center of the farmers market must arrive between 6:15 a.m. and 6:45 a.m. All vendors must be set up and ready to sell by 7 a.m.

Yes, baked goods can be sold at the market. They must be either baked in a certified kitchen or marked with a label indicating that they were baked in a kitchen not inspected by a regulatory agency.

If your product is an artisan craft that is not made from a kit, you can likely sell it at the market. We are required to maintain a ration of 70 percent food vendors to 30 percent artisan vendors. Please call the office at 205-248-5295 to see if we are currently accepting artisans. Flea market vendor and resale are not allowed at the market.

Non-profit organizations mat set up an informational table once per year. Table organizers should call the River Market office at 205-248-5295 to schedule a date. For-profit businesses are not permitted to promote at the market at this time.

Just like all vendors, food truck operators must go through the application process. Please view our “How to Apply” section below for next steps.

Foods that do not have to be time or temperature controlled for safety can be prepared in a home kitchen. Examples include baked goods, jams, jellies, and pickles.

Low acid foods such as canned vegetables, slaws, soups, sauces, and any foods containing meat or other ingredients that need to be refrigerated cannot be made in a home kitchen and sold at a farmers market.

Yes. These products must be labeled with a clearly visible label, tag, or placard that states that food is prepared in a kitchen that is not inspected by a regulatory agency.

Only raw meats that are processed, packaged, and labeled at an inspected facility may be sold at a farmers market. This includes fish and seafood.

Yes! All of these products are considered agricultural commodities and may be sold at farmers markets.

Dairy products, including goat cheese, must be processed, packaged, and labeled at a facility permitted and inspected by the Alabama Department of Public Health’s Milk and Food Processing Branch.

HOW TO APPLY

The Tuscaloosa Farmers Market operates year round on Saturdays at the Tuscaloosa River Market from 7 am – 12 pm. We will also have a Tuesday afternoon Farmers Market in June and July. There is a $50 annual membership fee and a $10 booth fee each time you sell. Vendors are required to have all proper permits and licenses after being accepted and before being allowed to sell.